11 Office-Friendly April Fools' Day Pranks When The Workplaces Needs A Laugh

April Fool's Day is around the corner, which means I'm prepared to spend the entire day with my office door shut, ignoring the hijinks of the outside world. The thing is, I'm gullible. Like, really gullible. You tell me the moon is going to be purple tonight, and I'll be the one standing in my backyard waiting for it to happen. But sometimes, even the most gullible of us need a way to get in on the fun. Before anyone in your office can prank you, check out these office friendly April Fool's Day pranks that you can easily perform alone, or with a colleague.

Whether you're looking for something simple and effective, or you're more interested in something elaborate (like everyone's favorite item in Jello a la The Office), there's a prank ready for you to serve up and surprise everyone. The most important part of any prank is you and your straight face. Many of these hilarious hijinks rely on you to keep the ruse going. So start practicing your poker face in the mirror, friends. You're going to need it to deny all once you get the office rolling in the right direction. If you're already known as the office prankster? Simply sit at your desk with a smirk on your face all day. It'll drive people nuts.

1Phone Swap

Have two employees that sit next to one another? Switch the plugs so that they receive each others calls all day long. This is great for two colleagues who don't particularly like one another in the first place.

2Change Of Clothes

3Photocopy Fun

Put a paperclip on the copier and make a few photocopies. Then, remove the paperclip, and take your copies and put them back in the paper tray. Watch as whoever makes copies next searches for the mysterious paperclip.

4Can You Hear That?

Find a recording of a heartbeat, crickets, or something equally creepy and crawly and download to your phone. Set the volume on your player to just audible and hide the phone in a filing cabinet, cupboard, or a desk drawer near your victim. Soon enough your victim will start asking if you can hear that. Continually deny that you hear anything at all.

5Extension Swap

6Did You Call Me?

If your office phone system allows conference calling, you can prank two people at the same time. Call the first victim's extension, then very quickly call the second victim and push the conference button. Both people will think the other person called them, and you'll be laughing as they try to figure out what just happened.

7Label Everything

8Photoshop Swap

If you have access to Photoshop and some free time before the holiday, have no mercy on your victim's office photos. Scan the photos in and swap their faces, add complete strangers, change their appearance, photoshop them in foreign places — just let your imagination run wild. Then put your edited photo back in the frame and see how long it takes them to notice.

9Thievery

Choose one item from your victim's desk, preferably something they use a lot, like a coffee cup, a stapler, a bluetooth, etc. Take a photo of the item and leave it on their desk with a ransom note. Make it especially good by making them perform an embarrassing routine to get the item back. (I.E. performing I'm A Little Teapot in the conference room for everyone to see.)

10Drawer Confusion

11A Light Mist

Take a spray bottle the sprays out a very light mist. Fill it with water and wait for the victim to get up and leave their office. Lightly mist their cloth chair seat. Do this every time they leave their office. See how long it takes for them to say something about the embarrassing wet spot on their chair.